The Breton Stripe

I love this bright and breezy Florence range from Whittard of Chelsea. With its happy colours and bold, handpainted Breton-style stripes (there are spots too), you could have a lot of fun mixing and matching the range in your kitchen.

The Breton stripe has become almost synonymous with spring time; the shops and glossy magazines are full of them (and my wardrobe for that matter). The design can trace its origins back to the 19th century when it was introduced as part of the naval uniform in Brittany; the original design featured 21 stripes; one for each of Napoleon’s victories.

After this, the top was adopted more generally by workers and mariners (the latter on account of the fact it enabled men overboard to be easily spotted) before making its way into fashion lore courtesy of Coco Chanel (who included it in her nautical collection in 1917) and the beatniks of the 50s and 60s.

Where fashion leads, interiors often follow and Whittard have done a great job of giving a classic design a fresh new look for the home.

All that remains to decide is how many of the colours would you mix together?